What 1776 event does the America250 commemoration celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026?

America250 celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence in 2026.

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, announcing that the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as free and independent states. The document explained the colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain and listed grievances against King George III.

The Declaration was drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson, working with the Committee of Five. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman served on that committee. Congress edited Jefferson’s draft before adopting it.

The anniversary is often described as the semiquincentennial, a term meaning a 250th anniversary. It is not the anniversary of the Constitution, which was signed in 1787, or of the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War in 1783.